Bobbin holder with wedge member



June 25, 1968 Filed July 30, 1965 Fig. 1

R. K. WHITEHEAD, SR, ET Al. 3,389,876

BOBBIN HOLDER WITH WEDGE MEMBER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Y INVENTORS RICHARD KWHITEHEAD. 5R. RICHARD K.WHITEHEAD, JR. ALVIN C. WHITEHEAD HARRY C. WHITEHEAD June 25, 1968 R. K. WHITEHEAD, sR., ET 3,389,376

BOBBIN HOLDER WITH WEDGE MEMBER Filed July 30, 1965 2 Sheets-$heet 2 INVENTORS RICHARD K. WHITEHEAD, SR. RICHARD K. WHITEHEAD, JR. ALVIN C. WHITEHEAD HARRY C. WHITEHEAD United States Patent 0 BGBBIN HOLDER WITH WEDGE MEMBER Richard K. Whitehead, Sr., Richard K. Wh tehead, J12,

Alvin C. Whitehead, and Harry C. Whitehead, At-

lanta, Ga., assignors to Southern Research & En-

gineering Company, Atlanta, Ga., a corporation of Georgia Filed July 30, 1965, Ser. No. 476,132 7 Claims. (Cl. 242l30.2)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Suspension type bobbin holder by which a bobbin for thread, sliver or roving is releasably suspended for free rotation from the creel board or creel rail of a spinning machine or the like, and comprising an elongate shell for insertion into the opening in a bobbin, pawls extendable outwardly from the shell to engage the interior portion of the bobbin, and a sleeve slidable along the shell to actuate the pawls.

Background of the invention Bobbins suspended for free rotation from the creel board on the bobbin holder and the slidable removal of a bobbin from the bobbin holder to be accomplished with substantially the same basic motions by the operator of the machine. This is because such a feature avoids the possibility of operator confusion and permits an operator to develop a standardized efficient pattern of motions.

Bobbins used with suspension type bobbin holders usually have a shoulder formed at the upper end of a cylindrical recess and previous suspension type bobbin holders have generally suspended a bobbin of this type by extending and retracting a pair of pawls at the lower end of the bobbin holder within the recess below the shoulder. The pawls extend outwardly under the shoulders of a bobbin to retain the bobbin in position on the bobbin holder and are retracted to permit a bobbin to be positioned on the bobbin holder or removed from the bobbin holder.

The difiiculty with some of these previous bobbin holders is that the pawls must extend to a fixed extent and must be locked in position before they will retain a bobbin on the bobbin holder. Thus, if the diameter of the recess in a bobbin is not at least as great as the distance between the extending tips of the pawls of the bobbin holder, the pawls of the bobbin holder cannot extend and lock and will retract and release the bobbin because of the weight of the bobbin. Moreover, when an operator attempts to lock the pawls of some of these previous bobbin holders in bobbin holding position in a bobbin having a recess too small to receive the fully extended pawls, the bobbin is frequently damaged or it may become jammed on the bobbin holder. Thus, these previous bobbin holders have generally not been well adapted to holding bobbins of various sizes having recesses of various diameters. Yet, for maximum utilization of spinning or similar machines, it is frequently necessary that bobbins of various sizes be easily and efliciently positioned on and removed from a single bobbin holder.

This problem with previous bobbin holders has resulted in the development of universal suspension type bobbin holders capable of holding and releasing bobbins of various sizes. However, even though these previous universal bobbin holders will receive, hold and release bobbins of various sizes, they have not been wholly satisfactory. This is because they have not adequately locked the pawls in their extended bobbin-holding position so that a bobbin cannot be removed except by that predetermined positive movement required to move the pawls to their retracted bobbin-releasing position.

Moreover, some of these previous universal bobbin holders have characteristically required a particular motion on the part of the operator when a bobbin is being positioned on the bobbin holder and an entirely different motion on the part of the operator when a bobbin is being removed from the bobbin holder. Since the changing of bobbins in the textile industry must be accomplished at a very rapid rate, these diflerent operator motions frequently cause operator error such as the attempted positioning of a bobbin with a bobbin-releasing motion or the attempted releasing of a bobbin with a bobbin-positioning motion. If the wrong motion is used in positioning a bobbin on the bobbin holder, the bobbin drops from the bobbin holder, and if the wrong motion is used to release a bobbin, the bobbin is not released and an additional timewasting attempt to remove the bobbin must be made before the removal of the bobbin is accomplished.

Summary of the invention The bobbin holder disclosed herein is a universal bobbin liolder in that it will receive, hold and release bobbins varying in size over a relatively wide range and having recesses and shoulders varying in diameter over relatively wide ranges. in addition, the positioning of a bobbin on and the releasing of a bobbin from the bobbin holder are accomplished by the same positive motion of the bob-bin relative to the bobbin holder.

The required motion is simply a fixed upward motion of the bobbin relative to the bobbin holder yet this motion must be positively performed before the bobbin will be released from the bobbin holder. This motion is easily mastered by the operator of a machine and does not require the operator to remember and master a motion of a bobbin relative to the bobbin holder when the bobbin is to be positioned and an entirely different motion of a bobbin relative to the bobbin holder when the bobbin is to be released.

Moreover, the bobbin holder disclosed herein effectively locks the pawls in outward bobbin-holding position in bobbins of a variety of sizes. Regardless of bobbin size, the pawls will not damage the bobbin or become jammed in the bobbin as they become effectively locked in bobbinholding position. In addition, the bobbin holder disclosed herein is durable in construction and relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture. Thus, the bobbin holder disclosed herein provides the advantages of a universal bobbin holder while completely eliminating the difficulties encountered. with previous universal bobbin holders.

Briefly and generally, these improvements in bobbin holders are achieved by a bobbin holder having the customary bullet shaped outer shell which extends into the recess of a bobbin and which is rotatably suspended downward from the creel board or creel rail of a spinning or similar machine, having a wedge member slidably movably within the outer shell, having pawls with their upper ends pivotally mounted within the outer shell and their lower ends positioned to extend or retract through slots in outer shell in accordance with the position of the wedge member, having a sleeve slidably movable along the outer surface of the outer shell as it is engaged and moved by the upper edge of a bobbin being positioned or released from the bobbin holder, and having operating means for alternately checking downward motion of the Wedge member and permitting the downward motion of the wedge member in response to repeated identical upward motions of the sleeve.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the invention suspended from a creel rail and having a bobbin positioned on its lower end;

hG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 taken at ninety degrees about the lengthwise axis of the bobbin holder from the view in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 showing the internal construction thereof;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the inside of the right shell of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 and shows the motion of the right cam rod in response to upward motion of the wedge member as a bobbin is being removed from the bobbin holder by initial upward movement;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of the inside of the right shell of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 and shows the motion of the right cam rod in response to downward motion of the wedge member as a bobbin is removed from the bobbin holder by downward movement;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevation view of the inside of the right shell of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 and shows the motion of the right cam rod as the wedge member moves downwardly to wedge the pawls outwardly into bobbin-holding position.

Disclosure of an embodiment These figures and the following detailed description disclose a preferred specific embodiment of the invention, but the invention is not limited to the details disclosed herein since it may be embodied in other equivalent forms.

The bobbin holder disclosed herein is best understood as comprising a tubular outer shell S suspended by a suspension assembly T from a creel rail E and a sleeve R slidably movable along the length of the outer shell S. The lower end of the outer shell S is insertable through a hole 10 in the upper end of a bobbin B so as to position the lower end of the outer shell S within a. cavity 11 in the bobbin B and beneath a shoulder 12 formed in the bobbin B where the hole 10 is continuous with the cavity 11. The suspension assembly T is suspended from the creel rail E by a bolt 80 which extends upwardly from the suspension assembly T through a hole 15 in the creel rail E and which is threadably engaged at its upper end by a locking plate 16 positioned within the creel rail E. The suspension assembly T is arranged to permit the outer shell S to be freely rotatable.

The outer shell S has a right slot 18 extending through it for a portion of its length and left slot 19 extending through it for a portion of its length on the opposite side from the right slot 18. A shaft 20 extends through the right slot 18, through a wedge member C slidably positioned within the outer shell S, and through the left slot 19. The extending ends of the shaft 20 protrude within recesses 21 extending along the length of the shell S. The recesses 21 are centered on the slots 18 and 15 and nubs 22 on the sleeve R extend into the recesses 21 to engage the shaft 20 when the sleeve R is moved along the length of the shell S. Thus, if the sleeve R is slidably moved upwardly along the length of the outer shell S, the shaft 20 is engaged by the nubs 22 and the shaft 20 and the wedge member C are moved upwardly as the sleeve R moves upwardly.

The outer shell S comprises a right half 36 and left half 38 held together to form the outer shell S by the clamp ring 39 encircling the shell S at its upper end 40 and by a button 41 of resilient material placed around nubs 42 at the lower end of the outer shell S. The button 41 also serves to engage the nubs 22. and prevent the sleeve R rom sliding completely oh the lower end of the outer shell S. The right half 36 and the left half 38 of the outer shell S are substantially identical and together the halves 36 and 33 of the outer shell S define a cavity V within which the wedge C is slidably movable in response to the motion of the sleeve R.

A right pawl 56 and a left pawl 51 are pivotally carried by the right half 36 and the left half 38 respectively on opposite sides of the wedge member C. The upper end of each of the pawls 5t) and 51 extends into recesses 56 in the right half 36 and the left half 33. Thus, translational and vertical motion of the pawls and 51 is precluded whereas pivotal motion about the pivot bosses is permitted. A land 58 is provided on each of the pawls 50 and 51 to act as a bearing surface to be engaged by the wedge member C in a manner to be described.

The wedge member C is an elongated member with a wedge-shaped end 59 which extends between the pawls 5t) and 51. The wedge member C is urged downwardly by a spring 14 positioned in the cavity V between the upper end of the wedge member C and a disc 43 closing the upper end of the outer shell S. When the wedge member C moves downwardly within the outer shell S, the wedge-shaped end 59 engages the lands 58 of the pawls 50 and 51 and forces the pawls 50 and 51 to pivot outwardly through openings 52 and 54 in opposite sides of the outer shell S at its lower end. As the pawls 50 and 51 move outwardly, the wedge-shaped end 59 of the wedge member C continues to move into position between the lands 58 of the pawls 50 and 51 until outward motion of the pawls 5t) and 51 is checked by the pawls 50 and 51 engaging a bobbin B. In any position at which outward motion of the pawls 5t) and 51 is checked by a bobbin B, the wedge-shaped end 59 of the wedge member C serves to effectively lock the pawls 50 and 51 in bobbin-holding position. The downward motion of the wedge member C in response to the spring 14 is controlled by an operating means responsive to the upward motion of the sleeve R and which alternately holds the wedge member C in an upward position at which the wedge member C is not between the pawls S0 and 51 and releases the wedge member C for that downward motion which pivots the pawls 50 and 51 outwardly.

The operating means comprises cam rods 66 and 68 carried by the Wedge member C and camming channels 69 and 70 formed in the inner surface of the outer shell S. The arrangement of this operation means will be understood from the following description.

An upper plug 61 is integral with the upper end of the wedge member C and the shaft 20 extends therethrough. A hub shaft 62 extends upwardly from the upper plug 61 and the centerline of the upper plug 61 as well as the hub shaft 62 coincide with the centerline of the wedge member C. A collar 64 is rotatably positioned on the hub shaft 62 by a plate 65 integral with the upper end of the hub shaft 62. The collar 64 is formed as a partial cylinder open on one side so as to allow it to be easily clipped into position on the hub shaft 62.

The collar 64 carries the right cam rod 66 and the left cam rod 68 extending in diametrically opposite directions from the circumference of the collar 64 with their center lines coinciding with each other and perpendicular to the centerline of the wedge member C. When the wedge member C is positioned within the cavity V of the outer shell S, the right cam rod 66 extends into the right camming channel 69 formed in the inner surface of the right half 36 of the outer shell S and the left cam rod 68 extends into the left camming channel 70 formed in the inner surface of the left half 38 of the outer shell S.

The camming channels 69 and 70 are substantially identical to each other so that they cause the cam rods 66 and 68 to move together as a single unit as the wedge member C moves upward and downward within the cavity V. Thus, only the motion of the right cam rod 66 in the right camming channel 69 will be described. However, the detailed construction of both camming channels 69 and 70 will be understood from this description provided it is also understood that the sleeve R moves upwardly and downwardly with a bobbin B and that upward motion of the sleeve R will move the shaft 20, the cam rods 66 and 68, and wedge member C upwardly.

The camming channel 69 forms an island member 71 which together with the outer edges of the camming channel 69 defines a path P1 in which the right cam rod 66 moves as a bobbin B moves upward along the outer shell S to be released from the bobbin holder B, a path P2 in which the right cam rod 66 moves as a bobbin B moves downward along the outer shell S to be removed from the bobbin holder, a path P3 in which the right cam rod 66 moves as a new bobbin B is slid upward along the outer shell S for positioning on the bobbin holder, and a path P4 in which the right cam rod 66 moves as the bobbin B is released to slide downward along the outer shell S for positioning on the bobbin holder by the pawls 50 and 51.

The path P1 is best seen in FIG. 4, and it will be seen that the island member 71 serves to impart an oscillatory rotational motion to the right cam rod 66 as the wedge member C moves upward. This motion in path P1 serves to permit the right cam rod 66 to move upward past the island member 71 into a position above the island member 71 where upward motion of the right cam rod 66 and of the wedge member C is checked by a finger 72 extending downwardly toward the island member 71. This serves to limit the upward motion of the sleeve R and the bobbin B along the outer shell S of the bobbin holder as the bobbin B is being moved upward for release from the bobbin holder.

When the bobbin B is subsequently moved downward for removal from the bobbin holder, the path P2 of the right cam rod 66 resulting from the downward motion of the wedge member C causes the right cam rod 66 to strike an upper guide surface 74 of the island 71. The right cam rod 66 slides downwardly along the upper guide surface 74 of the island member 71 with a rotational motion about the hub shaft 62 until it reaches a holding surface 75 on the island 71 where the downward motion of the right cam rod 66 and the wedge member C is checked.

This checking of the downward motion of the wedge member C serves to prevent the wedge-shaped end 59 of the wedge member C from entering the space between the lands 58 of the pawls 5t and 51. Thus, the pawls 50 and 51 pivot freely inward by gravity and by engagement with the bobbin B as it is being removed from the bobbin holder. The pawls 50 and 51 tend to remain in this bobbinreleasing position by gravity. However, the sleeve R rests at the lower end of the outer shell S after a bobbin B is removed from the bobbin holder and serves to positively hold the pawls 5t) and 51 in their inward bobbin-releasing position.

When a new bobbin B is positioned on the bobbin holder, it is slid upwardly along the outer shell 5 causing the sleeve R and wedge member C to move upwardly. The resulting path P3 of the right cam rod 66 carries the right cam rod 66 upward until it engages the sloping surface of the finger 72 which causes the right cam rod 66 to slide along the sloping surface of the finger 72 and rotate about the hub shaft 62 until motion of the right cam rod 66 is checked by the wall 76 of the right camming channel 69 in a position .at which the island 71 is no longer below the right cam rod 66.

Thus, when the bobbin B is released and allowed to drop along the outer shell S, the right cam rod 66 drops along the path P4 as shown in FIG. 6 and passes beneath a lower extension 78 of the island 71 so as to permit the wedge member C to move downward under the influence of spring 14. This results in the wedge-shaped end 59 of the wedge member C being forced between the lands 58 of the pawls 50 and 51. As a result, the pawls 50 and 51 pivot outwardly until they engage the inner walls of the bobbin B. In this bobbin-holding position, the pawls 50 and 51 engage the shoulder 12 and prevent removal of the bobbin B from the bobbin holder.

It will be seen that the operating means alternately allows the pawls 50 and 51 to retract into bobbin-releasing position and pivots the pawls 50 and 51 outwardly into bobbin-holding position in response to repeated upward and downward motions of a bobbin B relative to the outer shell S. When the point at which the cam rod 66 is checked by the wall 76 and the point at which the cam rod 66 is checked by the finger 72 are in the same plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of the outer shell S, these upward and downward motions are identical regardless of Whether a bobbin B is being placed on or removed from the bobbin holder.

Although the spring 14 urges the wedge member C between the lands 58 of the pawls 5t and 51 so that the pawls 50 and 51 are effectively locked in bobbinholding position regardless of the extent to which they are extended, it will be understood that the spring 80 may be omitted. This is because the weight of the wedge member C is alone sufficient to force the pawls 50 and 51 to pivot outwardly and to be held in bobbin holding position. It will also be understood that other operating means may be employed alternately to retain the wedge member C in an upward bobbin-releasing position and to release the wedge member C for wedgiing the pawls S0 and 51 into bobbin-holding position. lit will be further understood that many variations may be made in the embodiment herechosen for the purpose of illustrating the present invention without departing from the scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed as invention is:

1. A bobbin holder comprising:

(a) a shell having a length adapted to enter a recess in a bobbin, an opening defined in said length;

(b) a pawl within said shell and including a locking portion at its lower end and pivotal at is uppper end about an axis between a first position in which the locking portion is substantially in said shell and a second position in which the locking portion extends through the opening in said length, said pawl having a cam surface adjacent its locking portion; and a wedge member slidably downwardly toward and beyond said locking portion within said shell and having an end for engagement with said cam surface to pivot the locking portion of said pawl from said first position into said second position.

2. The bobbin holder of claim 1 wherein said wedge member is constructed to be slidably urged toward said pawl by gravity.

3. The bobbin holder of claim 1 having:

(a) means for selectively preventing the wedge member from engaging said cam surface.

4. The bobbin holder of claim 1 and further including means responsive to the motion of a bobbin along said shell for alternately urging said wedge member into engagement with said cam surface and holding said wedge member out of engagement with said cam surface.

5. A. bobbin holder comprising:

(a) a shell having a length adapted to enter a recess in a bobbin;

(b) a wedge member slidably movable within said shell and having a wedge-shaped end;

(c) a plurality of bobbin retaining members in said shell pivotal at their upper ends about a fixed axis between first positions in which each is substantially in said shell and second positions in which the lower end of each extends through a slot in said length, each of said bobbin retaining members 7 having at their lower ends a surface adapted to be engaged by said Wedge-shaped end so as to pivot said bobbin retaining members from said first positions to said second positions; and (d) means for selectively urging said wedge-shaped end downwardly into engagement with said surfaces. 6. The bobbin holder of claim 1 and further including a resilient member biasing said wedge member towar said pawl.

7. A bobbin holder for suspending bobbins comprising: a generally tubular shell defining at least one opening at its lower end, at least one pawl pivotally supported at its upper end within said shell and including a locking portion at its lower end in alignment with said opening,

a wedging member axially movable within said shell including at least one cam surface for engagement with said pawl, and

means for alternately urging said wedging member" into engagement with said pawl to pivot said locking portion outwardly through said opening and for withdrawing said wedging member from engagement with said pawl to pivot said locking portion inwardly through said opening.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,833,490 5/1958 Quint 242l30.2 2,873,930 2/1959 Brunner 242-1302 LEONARD D. CHRISTIAN, Primary Examiner. 

